Price vs Value
Vanguard showed a 1.94% discount on an energy fund that closed two cents above its value
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF
$338.78−2.10 (−0.62%)
- 0.05%
- $44.7B
- +16.2%
- 0.41%
- 0.2M sh
- $340.75
- low $280.27high $367.04
The ETF.net VBK Grade
A
Score 72 out of 100
- 6 of 35
Score 72 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A79 out of 100Rank 5 of 35Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A96 out of 100Rank 16 of 32Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D36 out of 100Rank 29 of 35Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C48 out of 100Rank 16 of 35Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A80 out of 100Rank 4 of 35Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A83 out of 100Rank 4 of 35
Our read on VBK
AThe small-cap outlier in a growth aisle dominated by mega-cap names. About 600 smaller U.S. growth companies, tracked by full replication for 0.05% a year, run by Vanguard since 2004.
Seeks to track the CRSP US Small Cap Growth Index, representing growth companies among small-capitalization U.S. equities. The fund uses passive full replication and remains fully invested.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.05% a year against a 0.18% median across its growth peer group, and sits in the same fee neighborhood as large-cap giants like VUG and SCHG while indexing a much thinner slice of the market.
- Plain mechanics: full replication of the CRSP US Small Cap Growth Index, fully invested, no manager discretion. Roughly 600 holdings spread out the single-name risk that comes with small companies.workplace.vanguard.com
- Live since 2004 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with a long record of hugging its index closely. Distributions land quarterly.
- One of the stronger implementations in its growth cohort: the cheap, wide, rules-driven way to own the small end of the style box rather than a stock-picker's version of it.
Worth knowing
- Small-cap growth is the market's jumpiest corner, and the fund stays fully invested through every drawdown. There is no cash buffer or defensive tilt to soften the ride.
- This is a style slice, not a portfolio: U.S. only, small caps only, growth side of the index only. What qualifies is decided by CRSP's rules, not by a manager's judgment.
- Trades in solid but not headline volume, so spreads can run wider than the mega-cap growth ETFs it shares a shelf with.
VBK Holdings
- Stocks
- 548
- 11%
- SLCMT1142
Sectors
- Technology27.5%
- Industrials19.8%
- Health Care19.6%
- Consumer Discretionary8.9%
- Financials6.1%
- Energy4.0%
- Communication3.8%
- Real Estate3.7%
- Materials3.5%
- Consumer Staples2.3%
- Utilities0.9%
Geography
- United States100.00%
VBK Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VBK$11,617
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | VBK |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.2% |
| 1 month | +0.1% |
| 3 months | −3.7% |
| 1 year | +16.2% |
| 3 years | +18.2% |
| 5 years | +4.5% |
| 10 years | +10.9% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | VBK |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.2% | |
| 2025 | +8.5% | |
| 2024 | +16.5% | |
| 2023 | +21.4% | |
| 2022 | −28.4% | |
| 2021 | +5.7% | |
| 2020 | +35.4% |
VBK in the news
VBK Dividends
- 0.41%
- $1.40
- $0.30 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
VBK Risk
- 19.2%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.69
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −38.4%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.19
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VBK Cost
0.05%
VBK0.05%
- The middle half of US Growth Index funds
- Median 0.18%
4 of the 35 US Growth Index funds charge less.
Other funds in US Growth Index
- AVUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +17.4%
- AILCGiShares Morningstar Growth ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return +16.0%
- AVONGVanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +11.3%
- AVOTVanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETFExpense ratio 0.05%1 year return +4.5%
- BISCGiShares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +15.5%